The English Department at Mohamed I University inOujda, Morocco is delighted to announce its 2ndInternational Symposium on Minorities and MinorLiteratures to be held 11-12 March 06. This year wewelcome interdisciplinary paper proposals on topicsrelated to "The Ethics and Politics of de/constructingidentity in literature, art, and the humanities".We are particularly interested in the following:The ways in which literary texts uphold or dismantlethe identity categories of race, nation, class,gender, etc.; the strategies through which literarytexts or art works acknowledge and negotiate culturaldifference; and the ways in which they contribute toan heightened sense of agency for and when acting inthe world.

The language of the conference is English. Pleaseemail (no attachments) an abstract of approximately250 words and short bio by November 31st, 2005;completed papers expected by February 20th, 2006.Please note that the reading time is limited to 20minutes per paper (8-9 typed pages). Selected paperswill be published in our Second issue of MinorityMatters; participants are therefore urged to conformtheir articles to the guidelines of the MLA styleManual.

Mohamed I University offers accommodation for 3 nightsand food to all participants. Air travel will be atthe participants' charge. A participation fee of 75USD is required from international participants,Moroccan Nationals are required to pay a fee of 300MAD.A website for the conference will be availableshortly.

Please send proposals to Dr Larbi Touaf or Dr SoumiaBoutkhil (Conference Chairs)ltouaf_at_yahoo.comsboutkhil68_at_yahoo.comLocation:The historic City of Oujda is a medium size city(500.000 people) in the north east of Morocco, on theAlgerian borer and 30 miles south of the Mediterraneancoast. Closest other well known cities are theHistoric city of Fez, Tlemcen, Oran (Algeria), and theSpanish-Occupied city of Mellila. Travelling into thecity is possible by train (from Casablanca, Marrakech,Fez, or Tangier, check schedules online atwww.oncf.ma) or by air from Casablanca or from majorEuropean cities (especially Paris and Brussels) asmany direct flights are available daily.